Category Archives: News & Comment

UNISON research on young people and trade unions

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SHU UNISON currently have a student intern, Samantha Douglas-Cregan, carrying out research into why some young people do not join trade unions.

Staff aged 27 and under, who are not members of a trade union, are being asked to give their opinions in a short survey.

The information gathered will be used to create a report and recommendations of how trade unions can appeal to young people.

If you know staff in your area who may be eligible to take part in the short survey please send them the link below; if any more information is required please feel free to email Samantha: s.douglas-cregan@shu.ac.uk

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LBVRL97.

A message from One Sheffield Many Cultures and Sheffield Unite Against Fascism

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Please support the statement below.

Don’t let the racists divide us – Unite to peacefully celebrate and defend One
Sheffield Many Cultures

Oppose attempts by the racist and fascist English Defence League to
exploit the tragic death of soldier Lee Rigby to whip up racism

Join the rally on Saturday 8 June.

Please email your support for the campaign statement to
info@onesheffieldmanycultures.org.uk or info@sheffielduaf.org.uk and
spread the word about the rally on Saturday 8 June called by One
Sheffield Many Cultures and Sheffield Unite Against Fascism.

Campaign statement

We urge people from all walks of life in Sheffield to unite in
celebration and defence of One Sheffield Many Cultures on Saturday,
8th June from 12 noon in Barkers Pool.

We strongly oppose plans by the English Defence League (EDL) and their
national leadership to demonstrate in Sheffield on Saturday 8th June.

We condemn the brutal murder of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich last
week. There can be no justification for such a terrible attack on an
individual. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family and
friends.

We also oppose the cynical attempts by the EDL and others to exploit
the murder to whip up racism and direct hatred against all Muslims in
defiance of the wishes of Lee Rigby’s family and regiment.

The EDL is a racist group dedicated to attacking Asian people and
Muslims. Islamophobia – bigotry against Muslims is as unacceptable as
any other form of racism.

The EDL’s aim is to divide us by making scapegoats of one community,
just as the Nazis did with the Jews in the 1930s.

Today they threaten Muslims, tomorrow it could be Jewish people,
Hindus, Sikhs, black people, lesbians and gay men, Travellers or
Eastern Europeans. There is no place for the fascist EDL in our
multicultural and multi-faith city.

New SHU Equality and Diversity Group

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This year our Equality Officer, Rosa Sadler, has been working with the UCU Equality Officer and the University Equality and Diversity team to establish a new Equality and Diversity group for staff and students. The purpose of the group will be to share issues, concerns, and ideas relating to equality and diversity with the University Equality and Diversity Board (EDB) which is a sub-group of the University Executive Board. We hope that this will cement a position for the voice of staff and students within the University’s equality and diversity strategic planning and policy making framework.

The E&D Team asked us to draft a proposal for the group at the beginning of this year and since then Rosa has worked closely with her UCU equivalent, Ruth Barley, to write a paper detailing what we would like the purpose and role of the group to be. We then sent it to members of staff and students who have been involved in equality and diversity groups in the past so that they could comment on the proposals and make suggestions.

Once this consultation process had taken place we were able to seek feedback from the University on the proposal. After some redrafting we hope to be in a position to present it to the EDB for approval in June so that the group can be in existence for the start of the new academic year.

The group will have open membership so if you are interested in being involved please watch out for more information in September. If you would like any further details about the group please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Rosa at r.sadler@shu.ac.uk

AGM survey results

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Many thanks to all the members who took part in our AGM survey.  We had 112 responses in all which is a good basis to plan future AGMs around.

Responses indicate that the current timing of AGMs (lunchtime of the first Wednesday in March) is best for most members.  Our communications about the AGM seem to be working too, as more than 90% of respondents knew it was taking place.  Unfortunately 38% were too busy to attend, and a further 22% were not in the University on the day.

Suggestions for addressing this include raising awareness of the importance of the meeting and staff’s entitlement to attend.

We also asked about incentives to attend, and found that the free lunch we currently offer after the AGM is the most popular incentive (51% said this would make them more likely to attend).  45%  would also like to hear a speaker from a relevant issue or campaign, and 31% would like a UNISON goody bag.  We’ll certainly look into having speakers in the future, this might offset some of the less interesting but necessary AGM business!

Most respondents were from City Campus and happy with the current location.  However staff from Collegiate Campus and Hallamshire Business Park did comment that the additional travelling time means that an hour is insufficient to attend the meeting, and that they would be more likely to attend if it was held on their site.  Next year we will look into holding an additional meeting at Collegiate and/or HBP; this will also mean there is an alternative date available for staff who aren’t in the University for the City Campus meeting.

Thanks again for all the responses and the helpful suggestions that were made by many of you.  The branch will be discussing these further when we are planning events throughout the year, and we look forward to a quorate AGM in 2014!

2013 pay campaign

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The University employers’ organisation UCEA have made a “final offer” of a 1% pay increase to Higher Education employees.  UNISON’s Higher Education Service Group Executive have voted to consult our 40,000 members in HE, recommending rejection of the derisory offer with a view to taking industrial action.

The union called on the employers to make an offer that would reflect the high cost of living and the real terms pay cuts that staff have endured in recent years.

UNISON’s head of higher education, Donna Rowe-Merriman, said:

“This offer falls far below what is required to address the gap between incomes and the cost of living. Higher Education workers have been hard hit by year on year real term pay cuts and large numbers still take home poverty pay.

“It is unacceptable that more than 4,000 HE workers across the UK earn below the living wage – the minimum people need to give their families a decent standard of living. HE institutions can apparently afford high salaries for vice chancellors and senior managers, so they can afford to pay the living wage as a bottom rate.

“All staff are under real pressure from employers to be increasingly flexible and work harder every day. They face job insecurity, outsourcing and the increasing use of precarious zero hours contracts and all they get in return is this miserly increase.”

Free legal advice is now only for union members

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The Government’s devastating attack on access to justice for injured people means that from 1 April, if you’re injured in an accident (at work or otherwise) or develop a work-related disease in England or Wales, only trade union members and their families will
continue to benefit from a free, independent and specialist legal service.

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act became law last year, despite massive opposition from trade unions, victim support groups and civil rights organisations. The Act ripped up the current arrangements that enable genuinely injured people to have legal representation without the risk of having to pay from their own pocket if their claim is unsuccessful.

This is because the guilty party, usually the employer or their liability insurer, will no longer have to pay the insurance premium that the injured person takes out to cover the cost of things like medical reports and court fees should they lose. Such costs, called disbursements in legal jargon, are usually vital to pursue a case and to prove who or what caused the accident that led to the injury, the exact nature of the injury and the short and long-term prognosis. But they can cost thousands of pounds. So, unless a case is going to be very straightforward and won’t require lots of investigation and reports (which is rare in work-related accidents and disease cases), non-union solicitors are unlikely to take it on because of the risk of not being paid.

Lawyers will also be allowed to deduct up to 25 per cent from their clients’ compensation to cover some of their costs, because they will no longer be able to claim them from the losing side. So 100 per cent compensation may be a thing of the past. Although many lawyers may continue after 1 April to promise no deductions from compensation, they are likely to refuse to take on risky cases that they cannot be sure will succeed. Or they may agree to take on a complicated claim, but only if the claimant is able to pay up front for fees, investigations and medical reports.

An injured person doesn’t have to accept being referred to a law firm provided by an insurance company, just because they may have legal expenses insurance added onto their household or motor policies. They have a right to genuinely independent legal advice, not to be told what their claim is worth by a lawyer who has been given the case by an insurance company.

That is why UNISON Yorkshire & Humberside has been working closely with Thompsons since LASPO became law to work out ways claims can still be supported.

To benefit from this service, members and their families with personal injury claims should contact UNISON’s legal service on 0845 355 0845 for more details.

source: UNISON personal injury legal services, Yorkshire and Humberside, Spring 2012 newsletter